DESCRIPTION: This project will (1) advance empirical knowledge of health care quality measurement and reporting through a carefully planned, long-term program of research, (2) study alternatives for integrating CAHPS data with other quality indicators, (3) bring new theoretical grounding to CAHPS, and (4) move CAHPS research into practice more effectively by developing methods for new sponsors and audiences. The research design includes a series of integrated projects in the areas of instrumentation and survey procedures, reporting quality information, using CAHPS measures for quality improvement, and evaluating CAHPS implementation and effects. The specific projects include: (a) Maintenance of the CAHPS Survey and Reporting Kit, (b) Updates of the CAHPS analytic strategy, with particular attention to developing the theoretical basis and practical applications for the assessment of entities with small populations, (c) Continued development of the instrument and survey procedures for G-CAHPS, NH-CAHPS, and PWMI-CAHPS, (d) Development of IP-CAHPS, PPO Questions, translations, and Web data collection procedures for CAHPS, (e) Laboratory studies of CAHPS evaluability, narratives, and framing, especially among persons with low educational attainment and literacy, (f) Electronic reporting, especially for parents of children with special health care needs and persons with low computer literacy, (g) Report templates development and a Final Report on the results of the 5-year reporting research program, (h) Use of G-CAHPS for Q1 with group practices in Oklahoma that primarily serve the Native American population and practices that serve the general Medicaid population, (i) Use of NH-CAHPS for QI in Tennessee, and (j) Evaluation of a social marketing intervention to promote effective CAHPS dissemination and use in Oklahoma, using G-CAHPS, CSHCN CAHPS, and the electronic report template. These projects will improve the measurement and reporting of CAHPS information, focus CAHPS on the units of analysis and aspects of care most salient to the public, and develop the new methods and understanding about quality needed to broaden the acceptance and use of CAHPS.